The final concert in the 47th season of Jack Kleinsinger's "Highlights in Jazz" is an admirably piano-centric one, spotlighting two legendary keyboardists who were, at least from the outside, a study in contrasts: Erroll Garner (1923-1977) died young and was so short that he was nicknamed "The Elf," while Randy Weston (1926-2018) lived to be one of the most elder – and the most venerated – of all elder statesmen, and was so tall that he could have been mistaken for one of the walking trees found in African folklore. But both Garner and Weston had enough in common, a shared love of swing, the blues, and the notion of keyboard jazz as a narrative vehicle – that they can indeed be celebrated in a single concert. The Erroll Garner Project features bassist Luques Curtis and drummer Ulysses Owens and stars the remarkable young pianist Christian Sands, and the Randy Weston Alumni Band stars the late leader's longtime costars Alex Blake, drummer Neil Clarke, and special guest, trombone star Steve Turre, all under the direction of Weston's capable lieutenant, saxophonist T. K. Blue.
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